Manchester’s Muslim Community Speaks Out After Terror Attack

Manchester’s Muslim Community Speaks Out After Terror Attack

In the wake of the harrowing Manchester attack, the fact that we have to even turn to the city’s Muslim community and ask for their response – as opposed to anyone else’s – highlights the misconception about terrorism and Islam.

When I sat down with six of Manchester’s local lads, some volunteers from Muslim Aid another the Vice President of the University of Manchester Islamic Society, never has the mainstream representation been so incorrect.

The boys, most of them in their teens, opened up about their anxieties regarding looming A-level exams, their wide-ranging career aspirations, and a love for Manchester United.

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They are no different from any other Oldham guys you would meet in the street, but because they are Muslims, that label carries a heavy burden.

Especially after the heart-breaking and barbaric attack by an extremist in the name of Islam, the public lean towards alienating British Muslim’s out of fear that they are in some way associated with extremism.

Aside from disclosing their anger at the tarring of their religion by those who, in their view, are completely opposed to its morals and values, the boys passionately voiced their admiration for Manchester’s loving, compassionate and cohesive response as a community.

When I asked them whether they feared racial tension after the attack, they were quick to list the endless selfless acts that their fellow Mancunians carried out when they were needed most.

Directly after the attack, we saw off duty taxi drivers coming out of their houses and going towards the scene, helping those who fleeing and helping them get home free of charge.

We saw doctors working overtime throughout the night saving lives, we saw restaurants offering free food to emergency workers.

The whole city united together at a pivotal moment in the city’s history and something to this scale had never happened before.

Everyone came together and were unified and were able to get through it that evening.

It struck a chord and shook a lot of us to the core, to happen in our home city of Manchester it is completely earth shattering.

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Manchester’s reaction has been an inspirational one, but there is clearly a need for more education and communication between all different communities.

The solution that consistently came up was education.

‘Hatred arises from fear’ was repeated by everyone I spoke to from the Muslim community.

Every week on Market Street in Manchester, Muslims Against Extremism set up a stand in order to educate the general public on the true teachings of their faith, making the point that radicals are not part of their religion.

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18-year-old Beinhameen Hussain from Oldham said to UNILAD:

From a Muslim point of view, you need to learn before you throw accusations. Come and speak to us, we’re an open community. Come to us, come to a mosque, a community centre, approach a Muslim in the street.

If you have a single question, we’re happy to answer. With sharing and learning, people will stop hating.

I feel like there is a block in communication, there is a ‘them and us’ culture, and non-Muslims think we’re closed off, but we’re not.

After the Brexit referendum, over 14,000 hate crimes were recorded in the UK between July and September 2016.

There has been an overwhelmingly positive response since the Manchester attack, however a mosque in Oldham was set on fire, and Muslims were spat at during the vigil by members of the public.